mockingbird

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Karl Wirsum

Karl Wirsum Untitled (Bunnies) n.d. colored pencil on paper 35" x 24"
jeanalbanogallery.com

Friday, January 30, 2015

Thomas Kapsalis In Transition 1997 oil on canvas 20" x 16"
corbettvsdempsey.com

Kapsalis is an institution within an institution. He has taught at SAIC for 50 years. He is in his early nineties now and still painting. I remember him as a gentle and giving teacher when I was there many years ago. The painting above has a monumentality to it even though it is a modest size.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Clem Crosby

Clem Crosby Dollars In Drag oil on formica on aluminum 30" x 24"
georgelawsongallery.com

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Sarah Gamble

Sarah Gamble Untitled 2013 acrylic and oil pastel on paper 17" x 14"
fleisher-ollmangallery.com

Gamble is a painter whose work lives in the in-between spaces of the conscious and the unconscious. I get lost in her work as if I were in a dream with no beginning or ending. A wonderful place to be.

Christina Ramberg

Christina Ramberg 1946 -1995 O_H_D 1976 acrylic on masonite 18" x 16"

corbettvsdempsey.com

Christina Ramberg's work is as impactfull today as it was when it was made. I

see vestiges of her work in so many Chicago painters. Her paintings resonate

with me today as much as when I first saw them at Phyllis Kind Gallery in 1974.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Brett Goodroad

Brett Goodroad Untitled (Arrival) 2013 oil on linen over panel 10" x 12"
brettgoodroad.net

Monday, January 26, 2015

Margaret Wharton

Margaret Wharton 1943 -2014 Friendly Skies 2012 chair parts and mixed media 62" x 32" x 2"
jeanalbanogallery.com

Margaret Wharton was a student at SAIC when I was there in the mid 70's. She was such a force. Her deconstructed chair sculptures and other sculpture won her a fellowship award in the annual fellowship contest held for graduates. She was, by far, the best artist that year.

Her premature death in 2014 was a blow to the art world she was so much a part of. I did not know her personally but always admired her extraordinary talent. I will miss seeing her work when visiting Chicago.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Gary Stephan

Gary Stephan Untitled acrylic on paper 24" x 18"
deveningprojects.com
I like the way this Gary Stephan painting works. Bold expressive paint strokes with a strong graphic element defining and pulling the composition together. He continues to be a strong painter after all these years. There should be a major retrospective of his work from the past 40 or so years.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Farrell Brickhouse

Farrell Brickhouse SiFy # 5 2015 oil on canvas 20" x 16"
farrellbrickhouse.net

I curated an online exhibition a year or so ago and included Farrell Brickhouse in it. He was the seminal inspiration for the exhibition. I admire his work for it's sincerity and rigor and am always amazed at his productivity.